


Everything has Changed

by whatihadforbreakfast



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Implied Sexual Content, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-26
Updated: 2015-05-26
Packaged: 2018-04-01 09:01:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4013749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatihadforbreakfast/pseuds/whatihadforbreakfast
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The semi-final of the Winter Cup. Rakuzan vs Shutoku. Midorima and Takao have been dating for several months, when along comes an old lover of Midorima's: Akashi Seijuro. Will the past stay where it belongs? Or will old feelings return?<br/>Midorima is caught between his past and his present - which will he choose?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Everything has Changed

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my pal, Pog, for beta reading my fic. This is my first work, so I hope you enjoy it. All those hours of not revising well spent. You da best Pog. ;-)

Looking at the crowd of spectators, Midorima strolled onto the court with dignity. Not far behind in his shadow was Takao, humming to himself.

Today was the day. _Today is the day that I enact my revenge on Akashi,_ Midorima thought to himself as he sat down on the Shutoku bench.

He never thought of Akashi very often since leaving Teiko because he knew that Akashi would do brilliantly at whatever club he ended up at, but he never imagined that he would have to think about Akashi so much in such a short space of time.

The Rakuzan team entered in v formation, their first year red-haired captain taking the lead. The air around them suddenly became very dense, as if the team’s presence was just that overwhelming. The way they moved across the court to their bench all in time made them look like they were some army drill team that had no need for commands because they were so perfectly in sync.

However, Midorima was completely oblivious to the change in atmosphere and had all his attention focused on Takao and his cute little ass. This was his distraction. He didn’t want to give his old red-haired companion any attention whatsoever. He wanted to show Akashi that he had moved on to better things – _much_ better things. But Midorima definitely wasn’t going to admit to anyone that he was actually trying to make Akashi jealous of Takao, his so-called _hetero life partner_ – which the whole Shutoku team knew meant boyfriend!

“Shintaro.” Midorima turned in the direction of the voice calling his name, and... _oh_. To his surprise, it was a familiar stare of mismatched eyes looking at him, deep into his soul. For a moment he found himself almost missing those eyes, the emptiness behind them, and...

Akashi just looked up at him with a smirk, and stated his absolute victory over Midorima and his team.

Midorima wanted to say something back – how he had moved on from Akashi and how his team will truly be the victors and be the ones to make it to the finals... – but it was already too late: Akashi had already left to re-join his team, probably to discuss strategy or something of the sort. Midorima didn’t particularly care for the details.

“What was that about?” Takao laughed, cheerfully slapping Midorima on the back. Oh, how Midorima loved Takao’s playful nature. It was the complete opposite of Akashi’s and was the reason why he had been drawn to his boyfriend in the first place – he wanted to get something back, for a change.

Midorima just shrugged off Takao’s question, pretending it was nothing, and lent in to whisper in his ear, “You know, I love you.” He had to try not to go red in the face and to keep his cool in this situation because he didn’t say _I love you_ very often, but he had to today because they were facing _him_. If anything from the past came up today, then Midorima wanted Takao to know that he was the only one for him now, and that the red-haired succubus was nothing but a brief fling from back in middle school.

Takao looked up into Midorima’s green eyes as if he was about to open his mouth, but the match was already starting so there was no time for a reply.

On either side of the court, the teams faced each other – The Emperors vs The Veterans. This match wasn’t going to be easy for either of them.

Takao was on the balls of his feet, ready to move as soon as the referee threw the ball into the air, Midorima just in his peripheral vision. Takao took a deep breath and ball began to fly around the court between each player clad in an orange jersey. The spectators’ eyes couldn’t keep up with the ball’s movement and… _score_! Shutoku had scored the first point, a three pointer.

“Excellent! Midorima and Takao, your teamwork is outstanding. Keep it up – we need the lead in this quarter to get the edge over our opponents.” The Shutoku captain smiled, hoping this would be the start of the downfall of the Emperors of Rakuzan.

Midorima turned and – _oh_.His eyes caught Akashi’s. To think only several months ago they were teammates and had once been lovers. Akashi’s lips parted slightly, almost forming a smile. Midorima couldn’t help but wish he could kiss those lips once again, like he had done in middle school. He had dreamed of the day that Akashi would yell at him to _kiss him already_ and order him around every time he lost a shogi match against him – which was always, because Akashi never lost. But their relationship was now in the past, and today Midorima was going to be the one to teach Akashi the meaning of the word defeat.

Midorima was brought back down to Earth soon enough: by Takao beaming over at him, of course, ready to pass him the ball to shoot, and–

“ _Shutoku score again_!” the spectators roared.

“You okay, Midorima?” Takao asked, concerned that something was bothering Midorima, so much so that his head wasn’t truly in the game.

“I’m fine,” Midorima murmured sheepishly, and he moved to the other side of the court in an attempt to avoid his former captain as much as possible.

Takao was bewildered: Midorima told him everything; there was nothing about Midorima that Takao didn’t know. They were close, or... so Takao thought.

He needed to focus, though: he wasn’t about to let the person he was guarding, Akashi Seijuro, to pass him. He was his marker and thus he needed to prove that he was up to the challenge that had been set: preventing the captain of Rakuzan from scoring.

Akashi had the ball. Takao stood on the balls of his feet ready to move when the red-head did so, ready to block him from reaching his target: the goal.

Sure enough Akashi moved to the left, then quickly to the right. Takao saw straight through his movements; there was no way he was going to let the Rakuzan captain score, no way he _could_ let him score.

Feeling very smug with himself, Takao didn’t notice that the ball in Akashi hands had disappeared and was now in the hands of the bulkiest man on the Rakuzan team. Known to the spectators as the gorilla, he scored the final basket of the first quarter with ease.

The first quarter ended on a tie, with both teams seeming evenly matched. Now there was a two minute break before the second quarter would begin, and this was the time that Takao use to confront Midorima.

“Midorima, what’s bothering you?” Takao said calmly, slinging his arm over Midorima’s shoulder and gazing up at him.

Midorima instantly averted his eyes from Takao’s gaze. “It... it’s nothing.”

Takao wasn’t going to be having any of this _it’s nothing_ shit. This time, he spoke more sternly: “What’s bothering you?”

Midorima went bright red; being this close to one another in public was just embarrassing. He pushed Takao’s arm off his shoulder and mouthed “Can we talk in private?”

And so, they left the court together.

“Let’s make this quick,” Midorima started, “Akashi and I, we... we have a past.”

“I know that – you were on the same team together,” Takao responded, nodding because he knew that already, and surely that had to be it?

“Yes, but… no. We used to date. Most people didn’t know about it because we spent a lot of time together as captain and vice-captain, but the truth is that I... I was in love with Akashi. I never knew if he loved me back, because he never said _I love you_ and just humiliated me every time I lost to him in a game of shogi.”

Takao couldn’t hold it in for much longer and let out a laugh. “This is a joke, right? I mean – you and Akashi…?”

“I’m being serious!” The tone of Midorima’s voice had gone sharp in annoyance at Takao’s ignorance.

One look at his boyfriend told Takao to stop laughing soon after and accept Midorima’s past, since at least this meant there were no more secrets between them anymore. He was proud that Midorima was able to admit that to him, considering how caged in his boyfriend could be.

They both arrived back on court in time for the second quarter, and this quarter Midorima wasn’t weighed down by the past and was finally able to let go of the burden that had haunted him for the past few years. He was finally ready for his victory over Akashi, although that wasn’t completely certain yet.

Takao, on the other hand, was contemplating which of Akashi’s qualities it was that made Midorima once – or _still_ , even – attracted to him. Was it Akashi’s leadership position? Or was it his stuck up nature and appalling attitude?

But... none of that mattered, did it? None of whatever Midorima saw in Akashi in the past mattered. Midorima was _his_! What he needed to focus on now was this quarter – was blocking Akashi from getting both the ball and the attention of Midorima; he wasn’t going to let some short-ass demon with heterochromatic eyes steal his man – not unless hell froze over!

But why, _why_ , did Akashi have to be such a perfect point guard? He was skilled, agile, and determined; surpassing Takao in many attributes – _why_?

As a point guard himself, Takao could respect him as a player, but as a rival for Midorima’s heart, he couldn’t help but think that Midorima must have a thing for point guards. Did Midorima really love him? Or was it the position he played that was the true reason behind their relationship? Because it reminded him of his former love, Akashi?

Midorima, meanwhile, was gazing at Takao’s orange shorts. _Damn. He looks good in them_ , he thought, hoping that after the game he would be the one to remove them... but that was getting ahead of himself. The game should be his top priority now.

However, a flash of red appeared and Midorima knew what he had to do. He needed to confront Akashi with Takao as his witness.

“Hey, Akashi, you better not take us too lightly,” Midorima barked through gritted teeth. He was going to prove to Takao that he no longer had feelings for Akashi through the blunt, harsh tone of his voice. “You’re the one taking it easy in the first quarter – testing the water no less. Surely you can’t win without using your Eye?” he continued in the same brusque tone. This would surely provoke Akashi, and show Takao his boyfriend’s dominance.

“I’m not taking you lightly, Shintaro. You could see that I was merely being cautious,” Akashi said, smirking, not even looking up at Midorima. “I won’t be one to play my trump card so easily,” he continued, “but at this rate the game will be over without me even having to use it.”

Akashi gave Midorima a devilish smile. If this was a year ago, it would have made Midorima weak in the knees – and Akashi knew that – but now it just came across as smug and belittling. This was a good thing: if Midorima had any ounce of lust left for Akashi now, Midorima wouldn’t be able to forgive himself for betraying Takao. Takao was the only one who could make him weak in the knees now, the only one who held the key to his heart.

“What?” Midorima questioned, but Akashi had already walked off, leaving him behind. He clenched his fist; his fight or flight reflexes were ready. He was going to bring down Akashi and the rest of Rakuzan along with him.

The ball was thrown and the second quarter began, both teams wanting to make the first move to take the lead.

Takao got the ball first and started dribbling it down the court, Midorima just ahead of him to his right, ready to receive the ball at the right time. Just before Takao was about to pass to Midorima, though, two Rakuzan players double teamed Midorima, preventing any chance of him receiving the ball.

Midorima tried but he just couldn’t shake them off, leaving Takao forced to think of another plan – and _quickly_ , but... Akashi was blocking him from going any further. There was no other option for Takao but to pass the ball to one of his teammates.

His teammate received the ball and dodged the way around the Rakuzan #7 before passing the ball to the Shutoku captain, who dunked the ball in the basket. The first basket of the second quarter was Shutoku’s, and they weren’t about to let Rakuzan get the better of them.

After Shutoku scoring, Takao noticed Akashi talking to the other Rakuzan players. _What’s so special about him? His personality is just so… **strange** , _Takao thought, _whatever Midorima saw in him, I will never know._

Rakuzan were now making their counterattack. The blond #7 dribbled the ball very heavy-handedly, causing the vibration from the force of the ball hitting the floor to throb through the chests of every player on the court. The speed of the ball was hard for even Takao and his Eagle Eye to keep up with.

Akashi sneered and looked to Midorima, smug. “Like I said before: there is no need for me to use my Eye.”

Midorima knew Akashi was holding back. Did Akashi really believe he was that weak to not even need to use his Eye? But Midorima was going to show him who the weak one here _really_ was.

Rakuzan scored again and again, taking the lead over Shutoku. But Shutoku weren’t going to let this get in their way; it was just a few points that could easily be reclaimed in a heartbeat. They were ready for their counterattack and Takao was on the offensive with the ball.

He had made it to the three point line around his goal and every player was marked. He needed to concentrate and calculate the right moment to pass the ball. He looked left and right and left again – what was he going to _do_? Just then, the ball in his hand slipped through his fingers to... to _Akashi_. The ball was in Akashi’s possession now. In _Rakuzan’s_ possession.

“That little…” Takao muttered under his breath.

With the ball now in the hands of Rakuzan, how was Shutoku going to counteract this? All their players were marked, unable to make a move. Then a ray of hope moved across the court, a blur of green and orange, preventing the worst from becoming a reality.

Midorima and Takao glided across the court, the ball exchanging hands as they moved. At the last moment the ball was passed to Shutoku’s #8, who scored, with Midorima scoring a high projectile three pointer not long after. Shutoku was really turning the game around and finished the second quarter tied with Rakuzan again.

This was surely anyone’s game, with fate seeming to be the only decider on the victor.

With the chance still there to win, Shutoku were ecstatic. Rakuzan, on the other hand, were brooding over the fact that two members of the opposing team had been able to break their defence.

“How the hell are we going to stop that green haired bastard?” exclaimed Nebuya, the gorilla of Rakuzan.

“You tell me,” the cheerful blonde – Hayama – laughed back with a slight twinkle in his eye, similar to the glimmer the eye of a wild cat got when ready to pounce on its prey.

“Do you think we should we should add another guy and sub out…” Nebuya moved his head to the side in Hayama’s direction. Hayama was oblivious to Nebuya’s comment and moved over to make room for the team’s captain on the bench.

“Don’t get me involved with your ideas, Nebuya. Your breath still reeks, so could you please hold it? You’re stinking up my air,” the fabulous black-haired player complained, taking a sip from his water bottle after he spoke.

“There is no need for that,” Akashi explained “I’ll go up against Shintaro myself. He and I have some unfinished business that I need to take care of. The court will be the perfect place for me to finish it.”

Rakuzan spent the rest of the break whispering between them; they had no idea what their captain had just said to them could even mean.

“Big sister Reo, what do you think Akashi meant by _unfinished business_?” Hayama asked.

“Don’t ask me and don’t call me big sister either,” Reo whined, fixing his hair with his hands.

“But you’re the one on the team who’s closest to Akashi. I thought you of all people might understand what he meant.”

“I think it might have to do with the fact that they were both on the same team back in middle school, but... I don’t know. For now we better get back onto the court or the captain will have our heads for sure. Or our eyes, at least.”

They both moved quickly back onto the court, trying to avoid Akashi’s eerie stare. What would the captain do if he knew he saw them talking about him? Would he kill them or would he show them mercy?

The third quarter had begun with the ball was flying around just like in the last two quarters. Midorima had the ball and was getting ready to pass it to Takao, but – to his surprise his marker had changed and now there was a pair of mismatched eyes staring at him, making him feel uneasy. They were still as cold as the day that Akashi Seijuro broke his heart, that day back in middle school. These were the eyes that could see through every move that was coming, the Emperor Eye. Akashi was no longer taking Shutoku too lightly. Midorima smirked.

_It’s about time_ , he thought to himself. He was ready for the challenge to face Akashi’s all-powerful Eye.

“Come to me, Shintaro!” Akashi ordered, loud enough for Takao to hear it from behind Midorima. “Come to me just like you did back in middle school!”

Midorima took no notice and jumped to fake a three pointer. He looked down at Akashi, hoping to see him in the air too, but... Akashi was stationary and gazing up at Midorima was, _no_ , it was his _Emperor Eye_ , and... Midorima felt the ball leave his fingertips for the hands of Rakuzan, and Akashi was speeding towards the goal.

Takao wasn’t going to let this bastard score. This would be his way of informing Akashi that Midorima was over him and that he should stop holding onto the past.

“I won’t let you pass!” Takao exclaimed.

“There is no won’t. You will let me pass. My orders are absolute,” Akashi responded.

Takao was surprised how Akashi could keep a straight face while he was talking; if it had been him Takao would have been on the floor laughing. But he needed to concentrate now: preventing Rakuzan from scoring was his top priority. He followed the ball as Akashi dribbled it left to right, the movement becoming almost too fast but still predictable enough. Takao tried to move to get the ball off Akashi, but he cut back the moment Takao moved, causing Takao to become unbalanced and fall to the ground, just hoping that Midorima didn’t see him stumble as Akashi scored, looking down on Takao mockingly.

“ _Shit_ ,” Takao blurted out, annoyed. He was getting fired up and ready to pounce on that good for nothing red-haired bastard. _There’s nothing special about him other than his ego and the fact that he is a total pain in the ass_ , he thought, squeezing his thumbs hard as his hands formed two fists. He wanted so badly to punch that bastard Akashi for making a fool out of him, but that would be against the rules, so instead he took a deep breath and counted to ten. He wasn’t going to let his emotions get the better of him – yet!

Midorima was also in deep water, again at the hands of Akashi. Shutoku now had the ball and he wasn’t able to shake his mark off. Even when a fellow team member hoped to be in Akashi’s blind spot to try to block him from marking Midorima, Akashi didn’t fall for it and continued to mark Midorima.

Midorima was able to run to a free space before Akashi caught up with him and received the ball. Takao was yelling him to pass the ball to him, but he didn’t want Akashi to use it as an opportunity to steal the ball, so he faked the pass.

Akashi saw through this and once again, the ball slipped through Midorima’s fingers.

“Oh, Shintaro, you should know by now that you can’t hold the ball when I’m around. You could never dominate me or my team!” Akashi bragged, making his way towards the goal to score.

Midorima couldn’t move and just watched as two of his teammates went up against Akashi, just to fall down like Takao did merely moments before. Midorima felt his heart beat fast as Akashi scored again. Was it the adrenaline rush? Or was it the fact that he still had feelings for Akashi?

Midorima shook his head. _No_ , he should only have eyes for Takao, not some old fling from the past. But he couldn’t help but think about the break time shogi matches against Akashi, the making out after practice when no one else was around, the sweet words that Akashi would say to him – _only_ to him – and... Midorima could feel his cheeks turning red. He was just in love with the memories and not the person standing before him. He turned around to see Takao move across the court, his eyes focusing on Takao-Takao- _Takao_. He knew in that moment that loving Takao was the greatest decision of his life up to now and absolutely no-one, not even Akashi, could destroy this little piece of happiness.

Takao now had the ball but was prevented from scoring by the black-haired Rakuzan player. The ball was knocked out of his hands and ended up back in the hands of Akashi after several passes between the Rakuzan team.

Midorima knew what he had to do. He was going to show Rakuzan and Akashi, _especially_ Akashi, that Shutoku weren’t weak.

“ _Akashi_!” he shouted, blocking Akashi’s path.

Akashi smirked. “This is the first time you have shouted my name and you’re not begging for my touch.” His calm tone was teasing Midorima, hoping to make him weak in knees like back in middle school.

Midorima glared at Akashi; this bastard wasn’t about to get the better of him. Plus making a make out session seem like it was something else was _totally_ uncalled for. Midorima was never down for full on sex back in middle school and would only go as far as third base, and that was only on the rare occasion. Takao had been the only person he had been with in that sort of way to date. But Akashi knew what he was doing – provoking Midorima.

Akashi dribbled the ball from left to right, just like he did when Takao was defending him. Just like Takao, Midorima fell to the ground.

The buzzer sounded and Rakuzan had gained two more points. The third quarter had ended and Rakuzan was back in the lead.

“Fuck me,” Midorima muttered under his breath, shaking his head.

“I will be tonight!” Takao chuckled, and he helped Midorima get back to his feet.

Midorima’s cheeks turned red at Takao’s statement, and he looked away from Takao’s gaze to try and hide it. _Whack_! Midorima felt a hand slap the back of his head.

“Stop moping around with your boyfriend and get your head back in this fucking game, you idiot,” commanded one of the Shutoku players.

“Oi! Our team words are _unyielding tendency_. Can’t you read? So get a fucking grip!” growled the Shutoku Captain.

Midorima looked up to see the support team cheering everyone on. It didn’t matter that the captain of the opposing team was being a complete ass, what really mattered was that his team supported him. He was going to give the spectators a game they would never forget and send Akashi home running. He got back his feet, and proudly made his way to his position for the fourth and final quarter.

“Takao, let’s go!”

Takao was following not far behind him. They were going to show Rakuzan who was boss and hopefully send them home to their mothers crying like the little babies they were. Their bond would be Shutoku’s trump card, the love that held Midorima and Takao together.

Akashi was still marking Midorima, so the first thing that would need to be done would be to screen Akashi to let Midorima run free. The Shutoku players all nodded at one another, a signal for Midorima to run. Akashi had been blocked by another player wearing an orange jersey, and Midorima was ready to receive the ball and shoot. This would be Shutoku’s comeback.

However, Akashi saw through the screen and dodged the Shutoku player just in time for Midorima to receive the ball. Midorima was stuck in Catch-22 situation and any move he made would jeopardise any chance of Shutoku having the ball. What was he going to do? Where was Takao when he needed him?

Just when all hope seemed to be lost, Takao appeared out of the corner of Midorima’s eyes. Turning his head towards Takao, Midorima didn’t notice Akashi take the ball from him. All Midorima was focusing on with Takao’s cute little ass. Then a voice echoed in his head: _get your head back in this fucking game, you idiot_.

Midorima watched as Takao took the ball off of Akashi, getting ready to score a three point. He received the ball mid-air and… SCORED! Shutoku was back in for a chance to win.

“That will show him not to underestimate me,” Takao muttered, eyes darting over to glare at Akashi.

The Shutoku duo of Midorima and Takao continued to score three more baskets, making four three pointers in a row for Shutoku. There were really scaring Rakuzan now; their once fourteen point lead from the start the fourth quarter was nothing but a single basket difference now.

Then something unexpected happened – Takao and Midorima were both blocking Akashi from passing the ball to any of his teammates, but... he took a step back and pivoted to face his own goal. He aimed and scored the basket difference for Shutoku.

The whole room was quiet: no-one could comprehend why Akashi would just score a basket for the opposing team like that. The Rakuzan coach immediately called a time out.

Takao thought it was hilarious, thinking that Akashi might have scored the basket for Midorima’s sake. But then a sentence caught Takao’s ears coming from Akashi: “If we lose, I will gouge out my eyes and order them to you!”

_What the fuck was up with this guy? Was this some wild form of S &M or something? He had to be joking, right?_ So many questions were flying through Takao’s mind, questioning the sanity of his boyfriend’s ex.

After the time out, the Rakuzan team seemed to have changed and become more furious, even more of a force to be reckoned with now. But Takao and Midorima weren’t going to let them get in their way. Midorima was already ready to receive the ball and Takao was about to pass it to him. The ball was now flying through the air but before it could reach its target, Midorima, Akashi caught ball with a single hand.

“Don’t you _dare_ think Midorima is yours! He is mine and my orders are absolute!” Akashi barked at Takao, eyes wide like a lion ready to kill. Rakuzan had done it: they’d brought down the Shutoku duo and their victory was assured. But Takao was determined to still win even if it killed him, just to prove to Midorima that he loved him.

After Rakuzan scored and Shutoku gained possession of the ball, Takao dribbled it down the court, but lost it while trying to dodge a Rakuzan player. Point after point, Rakuzan continued to score, but Shutoku wasn’t going to give up – they could at least lose with their pride and dignity intact.

The final buzzer sounded and Shutoku weren’t the victors. Midorima turned to look at the score board, proud that his team didn’t lose by a greater point difference. It was only a four point difference, no big deal.

Akashi approached Midorima and Takao was getting on the defensive.

“I told you I would win, Shintaro,” Akashi mocked, gazing menacingly up at Midorima. Takao wanted to punch Akashi in the face, hoping to giving him a black eye, and was almost about to, but... but Midorima just held his hand out to hold Takao’s, and Takao forgot what he was about to do.

Takao was just worried about Midorima’s sensitive emotional state. Although he would never admit it, Midorima was an emotional personal, even if he only showed this side to Takao. Midorima felt the need to maintain a cold outer shell, but just like a boiled egg, he was soft on the inside.

Takao and Midorima then walked over to the rest of their team and bowed to the support team. They then lined up and bowed to their opponents before leaving the court.

On the way to the Shutoku locker room tears were falling from Takao’s eyes and he sobbed “I failed. I’m a failure. I failed Midorima. I failed my team.”

Midorima couldn’t bear to see Takao in pain and told the other players to go ahead before pulling Takao into a hug. He then whispered into his ear, “Let me cheer you up tonight.”

“How are you going to cheer me up Midorima?” Takao asked, his tears soaking Midorima’s jersey.

“Like you said earlier, you’re going to fuck me tonight!” Midorima said with a straight face. This was the first time that he used that word to describe the times they were intimate together.

Takao gave him a tearful smile. After wiping his eyes, he followed Midorima into the locker room, looking forward to their night ahead.


End file.
